Toronto’s best food shops right now
Cheese Boutique
45 Ripley Ave., 416-762-6292, cheeseboutique.com No one in Toronto ages cheese better than the Pristine family, and that’s why so many of their products appear on menus around the city. At their massive, 10,000-square-foot gourmet food emporium, the vault stocks around $1.5-million worth of dairy products. (The current big sellers are the fresh, creamy burrata and a five-year-aged parmigiano-reggiano.) But there’s more to the Boutique than cheese: this is also the place to find fresh black truffles from Italy and Spanish marcona almonds.
Schmaltz Appetizing
414 Dupont St., 647-350-4261, schmaltzappetizing.com Anthony Rose’s modern Jewish deli in the Annex carries all the standard fishy toppings (gravlax, smoked salmon and trout), as well as more exotic options like salmon caviar, carp and smoked Acadian sturgeon. Most items can be ordered on a Kiva’s bagel, including $45 worth of sturgeon caviar with sliced eggs and sour cream. (Less extravagant sandwiches—like the Farshtuken, made with herring, onion and butter—run from $4 to $12.)
Cumbrae’s
714 Queen St. W., 416-681-1111; 481 Church St., 416-923-5600; 1636 Bayview Ave., 416-485-5620, cumbraes.com Stephen Alexander’s Queen West shop is equipped with an exquisite glass-walled dry-aging room filled with exquisitely marbled animal parts, a French rotisserie oven and a “ham bar,” featuring cured pork from around the world. Sandwiches, like a pulled rotisserie chicken version, are made to order.
Stasis Preserves Deli and Pantry
476 Roncesvalles Ave., 647-766-5267, stasispreserves.com Owner Julian Katz cooked his way across the Toronto dining landscape at the Drake, Lucien and Ruby Watchco. When he wasn’t preparing $30 mains, he would whip up scrumptious jams and pickle in-season produce, which he now sells at his Roncesvalles specialty shop, along with local cheese and charcuterie. His terrific preserves and chutneys come in flavours like black walnut–honey and pear–roasted garlic.
